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General discussion

Help!! HP DV 1040 vs Sony S260 vs Toshiba m35-XS349 or 329

Dec 20, 2004 6:15AM PST

Hi. I can't decide which one to get. Firstly, I will be using the laptop as for work which mostly involves surfing the net, writing, research powerpoint presentations, and spreadsheets. Will be used as well for pleasure, surfing the net, watching some DVD's and occasional travel. I will be leaving the US for 2 years so this laptop can't breakdown during that duration. I will be going to the Philippines for work. I do know that HP does have a service center there and pretty certain that Sony does as well. Most likely Toshiba as well.

I was set to buy the HP DV1040 however, when I told my friends, they discouraged me. They said that HP makes inferior laptops, the parts are inferior, the workmanship inferior just overall bad laptops. They told me that Toshiba's and Sony's are pretty reliable. The problem I've with Tosiba M35-XS349 or 329 was that it had problems with overheating. The guy I spoke to in Best Buy also said that they had a lot of returns with the Toshiba due to overheating. No returns with the HP or Sony. The problem with Sony is the price although it is on sale right now for $1649. I read somewhere that their service is poor as well.

Please help. This is my first laptop and it is a big purchase so I want to make sure that I get the laptop that will be at least durable and will not breakdown.
Which is better HP DV1040 vs Sony S260 vs Toshiba m35-XS349 or 329? HELP!

Discussion is locked

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You need a notebook with an international warranty-not US on
Dec 20, 2004 11:19AM PST

The first order of business is that most retail and consumer model notebooks sold in the US have a warranty only good in the US. That means if you have a problem overseas (regardless of whether there is a service center there or not) you may only be able to get service by shipping it back to a US service center.

HP has international warranties on its business notebooks. For example the HPnx7000 is the business equivalent of the consumer HPZT3000/Compaq X1000 15.4" LCD Pentium M notebook I have (6.5 pounds).

As you are overseas and say you have to have a a notebook that will work for the duration you really need to get a 2 year international warranty. There is no guarantee any notebook will last 2 years without problems.

In the US it is safe to get a 1 year limited warranty (what comes with it standard) and then double the warranty to 2 years limited for free with a AMEX or Visa/MC gold card that has warranty doubling. However, again, that would apply to US purchases and warranty service.

HP/Compaq, Toshiba, and Sony all have similar notebooks but Sony did come in last in service recently.

I recommend that you go to hp.com and access the business line (which has an international warranty). Look at the HPnc6000 (very high rated at cnet --about 8.4)which has a 14" square LCD but no firewire or the HPnx7000 series (see X1000forums.com) which has the 15.4" widescreen (Pentium M Centrino with 3.5-5 hours battery life).

Either way you should get the Pentium M 725 1.6 Dothan processor (don't go lower) to get the full 2mb L2 system cache.

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re-international warranty
Jan 20, 2005 12:48AM PST

For what it's worth I know that if you buy the extended warranty at Best Buy it also covers international repairs (personal experience). What they do is get a local estimate of the repair cost and either refund the money or offer to replace the machine if the repair is too expensive overseas.

Also although companies like HP do have an international warranty they will only repair machines that are actually sold in the particular country you are in when the machine breaks down. If the model isn't sold there you have to ship it back to the US for service. This can be a problem since many of the machines sold outside of the US have different model numbers and are configured differently from the US machines. Again personal experience after shipping a HP laptop back to the US 3 times despite the international waranty.

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which one? stay away from toshiba---- from experience
Dec 21, 2004 10:02AM PST

two toshiba laptops expired from overheating last one was 1905s277 p4

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toshiba
Dec 22, 2004 7:50AM PST

make sure and spend the extra dollars for the extended
warranty if you choose the toshiba, the service dept is 75.00 per call without it, and it will overheat

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Who Really made that Laptop?
Dec 22, 2004 12:05PM PST

Who Really made that laptop?

http://www.mopo.ca/real-laptop-manufacturers.html

The S260 is by far the more portable of the units. The DV1040 has by far the best features for the price, and Toshiba must have among the most loyal customers when it comes to laptops and handheld devices.

For what you need to do base your decision on screen size and pick the one that suits your needs.

When you decide which note book you would like to buy use the 72 Burn in to test your new equipment - Leave your computer on for 72 hours straight doing something such as playing DVD's if the unit does not fail in that time period chances are it will not fail at least untill the manufacturers warranty has expired Happy

Hope this helps!

http://www.mopo.ca/laptopguide.html

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Decisions
Dec 23, 2004 4:19PM PST

As an employee at a computer retail store, I can assure you that laptops, from every vendor get returned. From simple malfunctions to DOA's. The HP Laptop is a very good laptop, you get a lot of computer for the price, it includes DVD+RW, integrated bluetooth and 802.11g. Two of those features the sony lacks. Also it ahs a remote control to control media playback. Also speaking of experience, the Sony's DVD-ROM drive is located in the front of the Notebook, and when a CD or DVD is loaded, it makes the entire computer vibrate, and is very loud. In my opinion, the HP would be a better buy over the Sony, you may also want to check out the Gateway 3520GZ at bestbuy.com it has many similar features and is a couple hundred dollars less.

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Some salt on dv1040
Jan 8, 2005 2:52PM PST

As I understand your PC belongs to dv1000 series.
According to Reviews in PC World and other respectable magazines this series is perfect except:
1. Not sturdy enough (press top of pc and you will see your finger prints on screen)
2. Noticable glare for BrightView screen.
3. Unusually narrow vertical angle of viewing- !!!
On 1/9/2005 I was in Best Buy and Circuit City - both have dv1040 and I checked it - 1,2,3 are ALL TRUE.

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Sony S-Series
Jan 10, 2005 5:05AM PST

I purchased a Sony S150P When it first came out last year and I have been very happy with it. The machine is used for everything from surfing the web to watching DVDs, and I've never had a problem with it.

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Help!! HP DV 1040
Jan 16, 2005 11:53PM PST

I recently bought the Compaq V2000 laptop, the cousin to the HP DV1000. I am very pleased and impressed with the features of this model. I have not been a fan of HP or Compaq in the past, and I am pleasantly surprised with this purchase. I already placed a question to customer service about one of the software programs included, and they replied within 24 hours on a weekend with a solution. I have owned many Dell Latitude laptops in the past and acknowledge that the quality of the Compaq is more "consumer" grade. However, The price is much less.

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and the verdict?
Jan 20, 2005 12:28AM PST

Just wanted to know if you decided on one or the other and why? I am reviewing the same computers as well for purchase.
Thanks!

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Toshiba overheating?
Jan 20, 2005 10:50AM PST

Hey just to let you know. I have a Toshiba laptop, and it's a good one. Price Costco had a great price for it. I asked others what were the bast brands they too told me Toshiba or Sony. Yes my computer gets quite hot, but I disagree, it doesn't oberheat really bad. It's pretty hot, but I mean I can have it on my lap for a long time and I don't get burned or anything.

I think Toshiba is a great brand, I also was told Gateway is to, I had 2 gateway desktops that were great, but I've never has a laptop besides this Toshiba.

I hope that helps some.

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re Toshiba overheating?
Jan 20, 2005 2:01PM PST

For what it's worth - I have a Toshiba M35S 456. It never overheated but the area around the touch pad got fairly warm. Recently I replaced the hard drive with a Hitachi 7200 HD and since the replacement the heat by the touch pad has all but disappeared. Not sure if this is true for all models but in my case the hard drive was definitely the source of the heat.

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stay away from HP dv1040
Jan 22, 2005 12:43PM PST

The BestBuy guy lied. I personally returned two HP dv1040 units to them because of design flaw that caused my EDGE/GPRS card (Type II) to get jammed in the card slot, causing the eject button to break. I would have excused it as defect if it was 1x, but 2x in a row? I am looking at Gateway M210 series now, so far I like what I see.